Underground chef’s Deep Ellum restaurant takes last gasp

Underground chef’s Deep Ellum restaurant takes last gasp

Twenty Seven, headed up by Chef DAT, is closing.
Photo courtesy of David Anthony Temple

Unless it receives a sudden influx of cash, Deep Ellum restaurant Twenty Seven will close at the end of April.

Chef David Anthony Temple — known as Chef DAT — took up residence in the Deep Ellum spot at 2901 Elm St. in January 2015. Known mostly for his underground dinners, Temple made a go of a permanent restaurant location by offering four fixed-price dinner menus and two seatings a night for the 27 available chairs.

"This will unfortunately be the final weekend that we will be open for normal service," he writes in an email. "I will be moving out of our location in the heart of Deep Ellum May 1 unless we receive an angel investor or find a restaurateur that is interested in buying the concept."

Private parties and catering took up the the bulk of the restaurant's energy, and it showed. Though located on a corner lot, the restaurant was not terribly friendly to walk-up diners, and the tiny bar could barely accommodate a handful of patrons.

"We diligently tried to adapt our concept by becoming restaurant-forward and walk-in ready," Temple writes. "We attempted and reinvested and adapted to our neighborhood by having a lower-priced, user-friendly menu and live music Thursday-Saturday nights, all in an effort to keep bringing you delicious food and a great experience."

Chef DAT plans to continue the catering portion of the business, and if he books enough events in the next month, there's a possibility Twenty Seven could stay open through May.

Just in case, though, an RSVP-required underground dinner is scheduled at the restaurant for April 22 at $65 per person, and there will be a "clean out the bar" party that's open to the public on April 23, with live music, cheap drink specials, and a free food buffet.